Takeaways from Mueller's Russian meddling indictment

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Robert Mueller charged 13 Russians and three Russian companies on Friday with interfering in the 2016 election by assuming U.S. identities, sowing discord on social media, communicating with unwitting Americans and even setting up political rallies from afar.

President Donald Trump tweeted that the indictment proves there was "no collusion!" with Russia. The White House repeated that point, sending out a statement with "NO COLLUSION" in all caps.

What does the indictment mean for Trump? Here are a few key takeaways from the indictment:WHAT WERE THE CHARGES?

The indictment alleges that starting in 2014, the Russian Internet Research Agency tried to disrupt the U.S. political system and sow discord by stealing U.S. identities and falsely claiming to be U.S. activists. Specifically, the indictment charges the individuals with conspiring "to obstruct the lawful functions of the United States government through fraud and deceit," by making illegal campaign expenditures, failing to register as foreign agents and using false statements to try and obtain visas. Some are also charged with wire fraud and identity theft.

By early-to-mid 2016, the indictment says, their efforts included supporting President Donald Trump's campaign and disparaging Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The indictment says the Internet Research Agency was funded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a St. Petersburg businessman dubbed "Putin's chef" because his restaurants and catering businesses once hosted the Kremlin leader's dinners with foreign dignitaries. It was also funded by companies he controlled, it alleges.

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"UNWITTING" INDIVIDUALS

Trump is right that there is no evidence of collusion in the indictment that was announced Friday. It doesn't mention collusion at all. But that doesn't mean the matter is settled, because Mueller's investigation is continuing.

Along with several congressional investigations, Mueller's investigation began with the question of whether anyone on Trump's campaign colluded with Russians who meddled in the 2016 campaign. The indictment released Friday doesn't include any evidence that they did.

It alleges that on at least three instances, Russians using false U.S. personas contacted campaign officials associated with Trump's campaign in Florida. Those officials are identified as "Campaign Official 1, Campaign Official 2 and Campaign Official 3."

The indictment doesn't say if any of them responded, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in a news conference shortly after it was released that "there is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity."

Rosenstein noted that the Russians "took extraordinary steps to make it appear that they were ordinary American political activists."

Source: Chron News